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Retired women on the old state pension could be due for a lump sum of an average £13,500 after an error has found that some married women, widows and over-80s have been underpaid for up to two decades.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that the total cost of repaying the arrears will total £2.7 billion. The DWP is currently in the process of identifying and contacting those who have been underpaid due to the error which occurred after an electronic prompt to consider if an individual’s state pension amount should be increased that requires DWP staff to take further manual action that in some cases did not take place.
Those who were underpaid and who may receive a lump sum payment, along with an increase in their state pension, fall into the following groups:
The old state pension, or basic state pension, is the pension that women born before 6 April 1953 and men born before 6 April 1951 are eligible to receive. Under the rules of this type of state pension those not eligible for a basic state pension or not getting the full amount, for example due to not working enough years, may qualify for a ‘top up’ to £80.45 per week through their spouse’s or civil partner’s National Insurance contributions.
Pensioners can get the ‘top up’ if both have reached state pension age and either:
If a pensioner’s spouse or civil partner was born before 6 April 1950, they can only get the ‘top up’ if they’re a woman who is married to either:
For those who think they may qualify for a ‘top up’ to their state pension should contact the Pension Service.
The DWP has said that it will contact those who have been identified as being underpaid due to the error. As such, those who think they may have been underpaid do not need to take any action.
Those who may fall into the impact groups should be aware that the error did not occur in every case and be wary of any communication reporting to be from the DWP that asks for personal and/or bank details.
Those who do not fall into the category of the top up eligibility but who want to boost their retirement income could consider equity release, more information about this can be found reading our equity release explained guide.
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The average lifetime mortgage, otherwise known as an equity release product, now stands at 5.63%, the highest it has been since August 2016. Rising in tandem with these rates are the number of people looking to use some form of equity release. Figures from the Equity Release Council for this year’s first quarter saw customers unlock £1.53 billion of property wealth in total. This was up 14% from the fourth quarter of 2021 – previously the busiest quarter on record.
The average lifetime mortgage, otherwise known as an equity release product, now stands at 5.63%, the highest it has been since August 2016.
Statistics recently released by the Equity Release Council announcing fourth quarter and full year figures highlight the popularity of Equity Release products. During 2021, 76,154 customers took out new plans, made use of existing drawdown reserves or agreed extensions to existing plans.
Statistics recently released by the Equity Release Council announcing fourth quarter and full year figures highlight the popularity of Equity Release products.
Keeping up with the cost of living coupled with market uncertainty has driven investors to withdraw more from their pension pots. Due to an increased need for cash to cover living costs and market uncertainty, the average value of income withdrawals from pensions increased in January and February this year. This is according to interactive investor, an online trading platform, which collected this data from its Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) product.
Keeping up with the cost of living coupled with market uncertainty has driven investors to withdraw more from their pension pots.
The average lifetime mortgage, otherwise known as an equity release product, now stands at 5.63%, the highest it has been since August 2016. Rising in tandem with these rates are the number of people looking to use some form of equity release. Figures from the Equity Release Council for this year’s first quarter saw customers unlock £1.53 billion of property wealth in total. This was up 14% from the fourth quarter of 2021 – previously the busiest quarter on record.
The average lifetime mortgage, otherwise known as an equity release product, now stands at 5.63%, the highest it has been since August 2016.
Statistics recently released by the Equity Release Council announcing fourth quarter and full year figures highlight the popularity of Equity Release products. During 2021, 76,154 customers took out new plans, made use of existing drawdown reserves or agreed extensions to existing plans.
Statistics recently released by the Equity Release Council announcing fourth quarter and full year figures highlight the popularity of Equity Release products.
Keeping up with the cost of living coupled with market uncertainty has driven investors to withdraw more from their pension pots. Due to an increased need for cash to cover living costs and market uncertainty, the average value of income withdrawals from pensions increased in January and February this year. This is according to interactive investor, an online trading platform, which collected this data from its Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) product.
Keeping up with the cost of living coupled with market uncertainty has driven investors to withdraw more from their pension pots.
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